Lucky Accident
by AngelWing1138
Summary: She believed that if she was going to look like this forever, she should've just died in that accident...But he made her feel beautiful and worth living. JackSally Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Mmkay, this is my first attempt at Nightmare Before Christmas! Now, I adore the movie; I adore Jack and Sally; I just adore this entire plot and everything. It's fun, it's creative, and it's so sweet. Really, in it's own way. Especially the relationship between Jack and Sally. I also adore the movie Edward Scissorhands, which I just recently watched and then I decided, 'Hey Angel, why don't we make a sort of hybrid mix of a thing with those two movies? It'd be such a lovely thing.' And so there ya have it. My mix. Of course, the plot's not entirely like Edward Scissorhands at all; and not everything goes along with that plot. I only took certain aspects of that movie for this story.  
P.S. Barrel might seem out of character, but we never get to really _see_ his character! I love Barrel the most out of the Troublesome Trio, and I find he's really abused by Lock and Shock. So I decided to give him his own edge to this story. Though he's still our loveable goofball. He's just got his intelligent moments, that he does.

Disclaimer: The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Tim Burton and Skellington Productions.

* * *

_The tires squealing, the sounds of metal crashing, the car flipping over are all a blur in my mind. They were all insignificant as I looked over at my dear cousin Barrel and saw him bleeding. _

_The last thing I remember hearing was the sounds of my own shrill screaming..._

_And then everything went white. _

"Did you hear about that huge accident this weekend?" One girl whispered, leaning over to whisper in her friend's ear. The boy looked over, nodding solemnly.

"Yeah, it was apparently huge! Like, five cars were totalled, and only two of the like, 13 people survived." He whispered back. "Though they're not fairing any better, I hear. Scarred like war veteran after a bomb exploded in their face." He frowned a little, flicking back a strand of red hair from his oddly yellow eyes, looking at the dark hair girl beside him.

She nodded, looking around for a moment, before leaning forward to whisper again. "Apparently the two that survived are from our school; Sally and Barrel Finkelstein. They're cousins." Shock Witching fiddled with her headband for a moment before slipping it on, looking at Lock DeVille as he stared with wide eyes. "Barrel's that really tall guy that always hangs around her, since he's the older of the two; he's got the green hair and blue eyes. Apparently he's got a few scars around his face now."

"Well, at least girls will think he's cool since he survived a crash like that." Lock muttered, rolling his eyes and grinning. "And what about Sally? I've seen her around; she's a good looking gal."

"I've only heard rumours about her; apparently her wounds were worse than Barrel's and the doctors at the hospital didn't know what to do with her; they thought she was going to die." She paused, thinking about the things she had heard before looking at Lock again. "Her foster father Dr Finkelstein's this renowned doctor all over North America and so he took her to his lab and fixed her right up. She's fine...But I don't think she'll be that bright, attractive girl she used to be. Oh, I'm sure her mind's fine, since she's talking and walking coherently and everything...Just..." She chewed on her bottom lip; either worrying it or holding back giggles, who knew with Shock? "Just now she's all scarred up; like she was a rag doll put together really badly by a child's hands." Lock's eyes widened and she nodded quietly.

"Damn...That's harsh."

"You're telling me..." She suddenly fell silent, eyes widened as she turned her long face over to the front doors. Lock stared at her in confusion for a moment, before looking over, dawning comprehension falling over his face as he saw who had just walked in.

The taller of the cousins was walking next to a small looking figure that seemed to be hiding within their coat which was long and heavy-looking for the beginning of October. Barrel seemed to be saying something to the younger girl, a hand on her shoulder as he smiled to her reassuringly. She shook her head, though one could barely tell it was such a small movement; her long, reddish brown hair covered her face, falling to her waist and let out loosely. It seemed stringy now, though, instead of the full bounce it had been just that past week when she had been smiling and wishing everyone a good weekend. Finally, she looked up at her cousin as he said something to make her smile, and the two conversing friends saw what had been done to her after her foster father had gotten his hands on her.

At the corners of her lips were long stitches that stretched on her cheeks, and over her right eye there was a long stitching scar there, black as the thread it was made of; stark against her skin that had always been pale. Around her neck, of all places, there was stitching just as black as the ones on her face; Shock wondered if she could still talk, and then was proven that she could when she said something softly to Barrel who nodded, rubbing her shoulder like the good cousin he was before he jogged off towards the office, leaving her near the entrance to shrink into herself. Because of his departure, neither of the two friends could see the rest of her scars because she had hidden inside her jacket again.

Shock turned to look at Lock, who looked at the same time, their eyes wide. "She looks a royal mess," he whispered softly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Poor girl...She's probably traumatized."

"You gotta pity her. She's a nice girl and all..."

"And just last week you said you hated her for that kindness."

"Oh shut up, Lock."

* * *

Sally Finkelstein watched as her cousin ran off to the office to go talk to the principal; he had called this morning asking to talk to one of the cousins about the amount of damage that the teens had suffered and if they needed to have an counselling; what could he do to help them through this difficult time? She stepped back to a wall, wishing with all her might that she could just blend into it and closed her eyes, hiding into her jacket again which she had worn to avoid the questions she was sure she was going to get. She felt two pairs of eyes on her, and through her long lashes looked at Shock Witching and Loc DeVille; two of the pranksters of the school who liked to make the teachers' and principal's lives a living hell. Usually their antics were amusing, and Sally found them funny...But now she was under their scrutiny. She saw pity in Shock's gaze then, and looked away from her, biting her bottom lip.

Sally couldn't remember being pulled from the totalled car after she had blacked out, but when she came to she was under her foster father's intent gaze which he hid behind sunglasses, scratching his bald head as he looked at her. She shifted, wincing because of the amount of pain she found herself in and Dr Finkelstein, in his raspy, coarse voice, snapped at her harshly not to move or else she'd destroy her stitching. She had blinked, wide eyes widening even more than was normal, and the good doctor had wheeled his electronic wheelchair over to his desk, picking up the mirror he used to show his patients what they looked like after surgery, and wheeled over to her, keeping it to his chest.

"It was all I could do to save you. Anything else and you would've surely died. You'll look like this until the day you die, and I can't help you on that. So you'll just have to get used to it." He had told her quietly, but still just as harshly, before holding the mirror up for her to see.

And Sally had fainted.

She shifted her arms, still sore from the stitches but better than the first night, frowning as she thought of the medical work her foster father had done for her. She didn't understand why he couldn't change any of the stitching, but Sally didn't know a thing about medicine except for how to make a sleeping dosage for her foster father from the deadly nightshade she picked from their back garden whenever she wanted to go out for a long time. She was often locked into her room for such shenanigans, but at least she got her freedom.

Now she wished she was locked up just so she wouldn't feel the eyes of her peers.

The sound of quick footsteps caught her ears, and she peeked up to see Barrel coming over to her, grinning his usual wide, friendly grin and she couldn't help the tiny smile that came out, making his grin widen. His face was scarred but not mangled, and his stitches were small and barely noticeable; only noticeable if you pointed them out for someone to see. When he had seen Sally on the weekend after he had gotten out of the hospital, he had been surprised to see her state and instead of screaming or calling her a freak, he had hugged her. She had been so surprised that she had started to sob and they had spent the rest of the weekend together, wondering what they were going to do when they got to school.

"Mr Mayor says that you can stay in the office all day with Mrs Claus. She'll help you cope with everything and I can get your homework from all your classes and notes from students." He said, stopping front of her and placing a hand on her head. She looked at him quietly, seemingly thinking about this, before she nodded quietly and Barrel smiled widely. "Let's get you to the counsellor's office then." He said, wrapping an arm around her small shoulders and walking her in the direction of the counsellor's office. He turned to look at Lock and Shock, raising an eyebrow at them and Shock blinked, flushing at being caught staring.

He frowned a little, before mouthing out 'I'll talk to you two later' before he turned away, turning the corner and disappearing from their sight.

* * *

Sally sat down in the chair, folding her hands in front of her as Barrel spoke to Mrs Claus outside of the office; both of them talking in low voices so that she wouldn't hear them. She frowned a little at that, closing her eyes as she thought to herself about different things; keeping her mind off of the weekend and her new appearance. Finally Barrel came in, wishing her a good day before he left, and Mrs Claus stepped in, walking to her chair behind her desk and sitting down, smoothing the back of her red skirt as she sat; her green sweater snug on her torso as she looked up at Sally, smiling her kind smile; white hair pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck, glasses perched on her nose. She was a lovely woman who seemed to care for all the students in the school and acted as a sort of grandmother and confident to them all; everything that was said here was truly secret, and none of the other faculty knew of the problems the students went to Mrs Claus for.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Sally fidgeting in her seat and Mrs Claus waiting patiently for her to speak before the elderly woman sighed softly, smiling at her. "Why don't you take off that heavy jacket? It must be very warm for you right now." She said kindly, trying to make Sally comfortable. She knew about Sally's condition, and this was to show her that she wasn't bothered by it and that she knew Sally was still the same Sally that had come to her about family problems and stress and grades.

The girl blinked, startled and looking up at her, before she nodded a tiny bit, unbuttoning the coat with her small hands slowly, slipping out of it carefully after she was done; showing some more of the extent of her scarring.

From what could be seen under a self made dress made out of blues, green and purples, there was stitching up from her chest that spread into a seeming y-incision on her chest, peeking out slightly from under the collar of the dress. On her arms there were different places scars, just as macabre as the ones on her face and neck; black threat stark against her pale skin and seemingly holding her together around her elbows, forearms, uppers arms and wrists. Biting her bottom lip, she shifted in her seat and folding her hands into her lap again, clasping her hands together quietly. Mrs Claus looked at her for a moment longer, before she smiled at her kindly.

"Why don't you talk about your English class? You're doing better in there now, right? I heard from Miss Gill that you wrote a song that really touched her..."

Sally blinked again, surprised by the choice of subject before she smiled and nodded, starting to quietly speak about her classes.

* * *

Barrel walked down the halls, ignoring the whispers of students as he walked up to Shock and Lock, who still sat where they had been before Barrel had taken Sally to Mrs Claus. He stopped in front of them, looking at the two of them before he sighed heavily. "Could you guys not be so noticeable when you're talking about someone? Sally's really self-conscious right now."

"Is she alright?" Shock asked, looking at him curiously; Barrel didn't really speak to many other people except for Sally, but that was because he was protective of her. To see him talking to them of all people—people someone wouldn't expect Barrel to ever even be caught dead standing next to—was just a surprise. Lock looked at him, also curious to his answer, and Barrel looked to the side, shrugging his shoulders.

"She's alright physically...She's just gotten a lot quieter since she woke up." He said, frowning in worry for his cousin. The two friends looked at each other, before standing up in one fluid motion; showing that Lock was slightly taller than Barrel and Shock was the tallest of the three. They put their elbows on Barrel's shoulders, looking at him as he looked at them curiously before they both smiled.

"We can make her smile if you like," Shock said, flicking back some of her long, dark hair. Barrel bit the inside of his cheek, opening his mouth to say something when Lock interrupted.

"We won't be mean about it or nothing. We'll just get her something she really likes." He said, waving his free hand casually around as if they did this every other day. Shock nodded in agreement, speaking up again.

"This is why we'll need your help." She said, smiling at him sweetly. "You know Sally the most, right? You _are_ her cousin, after all!" He nodded, unsure of what they wanted from him.

"You just have to come with us when we get something she really likes."

"...She likes cloth dolls a lot...She makes clothes for them and stuff like that." Barrel said, smiling slowly at the idea of giving something to Sally to make her feel better.

"Hey, that's cool." Shock said, smiling at Barrel though secretly smirking at Lock who was plotting at that moment. "We'll go get a doll then. Right now. You come with us to show us what kind of dolls she likes."

"...I can't leave school." Barrel said, eyes widening. "I need to be here for Sally! I gotta get her homework and stuff."

"Don't _worry_," Lock said, patting Barrel on the back. "We'll be back before you know it! I mean, Shock can drive. Like a maniac."

"I am not a maniac. You're just a wuss."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"_ARE TOO!_"

"_**AM NOT!**_"

"Shut up both of you!" Barrel shouted, interrupting them and they stared at him with wide eyes. He then grinned. "If you can make this trip quick, then I can get the perfect thing for her." He said, looking at them both. The two of them looked at each other before smiling widely and nodding.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Let's go."

* * *

Barrel lead Shock and Lock into a store on the other end of town, walking in and waving to one of the cashiers as he did so; the other two stared at him oddly, looking at each other before walking after the quick-moving Barrel, watching as he looked through the isles. He then turned into one suddenly and Lock bumped into Shock trying to get in after him, causing a mass collision and then flailing limbs before they fell over in a pile of embarrassment and awkward positions. Barrel looked back at him, blinking with wide eyes as Shock flushed red and Lock continued to try and detangle himself from her skirt. The redheaded boy glared up at him, scowling. "What?!" He snapped, and Barrel just grinned, shaking his head as he turned, picking up a doll body dressed in a simple patchwork dress. "That the doll?" Lock muttered as he crossed his arms, facing away from Shock who was straightening her skirt, muttering death threats under her breath, every few minutes 'moron' being heard as she glared at her friend.

Barrel nodded, fiddling with the doll. "Sally always said that the doll reminded her of her, and she always wanted it." He said, smiling and shrugging a little. Shock looked at him oddly, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"How does it remind her of her? I mean, I can tell with the scars on it and her new look, but...The doll's light blue."

"Have you ever closely looked at Sally? She looks pale from a distance, but so do I; it's a family trait. A skin condition that we all have; we're all a really light blue. Sometimes, if we stay out in the sun for too long the blue gets darker, but other than that...We're all light blue." He said, shrugging as he held out one of his hands for Shock's inspection, shock (no pun intended) falling onto her face to see he was speaking the truth. "Can we buy the doll now? I need to be there in time for lunch..."

"Hold your horses; why can't we take our time and get some nice dresses for the doll?" Lock said, inwardly wondering why he was doing this again. Barrel shook his head, looking at him.

"I already told you. She likes to make the dresses for them. Let's go." He then walked past them, but Shock grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back. He balked, looking at her in confusion. "Why aren't we leaving?"

"Because we just wanna hang out with you for a little while. You're always hanging around with your cousin. You're not always gonna be with her, you know." Shock said, smirking as Barrel's confusion was swiped from his face to a blank look of understanding. "Is that illegal?"

"Right now, yeah." Barrel said, ripping his arm out of her grasp. "Drive me back or I'm taking your car." He said, holding up his other hand to show he had somehow swiped her keys without her noticing. Her eyes widened, before she frowned, grumbling to herself as she snatched her keys back, nodding. Barrel smiled, nodding back before he went to the cash and Lock slid up to stand beside her, looking at her.

"You gonna let him get away with that? I mean, no one touches your keys."

"No, I'm not gonna let him get away with that..."

* * *

Sally sighed a little as she took a cookie from Mrs Claus, chewing on it carefully as the older woman spoke fondly of her husband, talking about one thing or the other. "He seems to have found an interest in that old house just a little bit from Dr Finkelstein's home. I'm sure you know of it, dear; it's the tall house with the tower? He says he's seen someone—or some_thing_ as he says—walking in that tower and so he's been going down every night to watch." She shook her head, smiling. "Nicolas is very fond of the supernatural, you know. But I'm sure that's going to hurt him somehow one way or the other; he's going to hurt his back or he's going to put strain on himself. He isn't as young as he used to be, you know!"

Sally smiled, pushing back some of her hair and she saw the counsellor pause in her talking, faltering for a moment before smiling to her kindly. "Does it hurt dear?" She asked softly and Sally blinked, looking at her before she shrugged her shoulders softly, fiddling with her half eaten cookie. "Sally dear, I need you to talk to me about that. We can't talk about Nicolas all day now."

"I thought we could've avoided the topic." The young girl sighed, closing her eyes before she looked up at Mrs Claus shyly, chewing on her bottom lip. "I...don't know what I should say."

"Why don't you tell me about waking up?" Mrs Claus suggested, shifting in her seat and making her comfortable, smiling at her sweetly. "I think that would be a good place to start." Sally nodded, lifting the cookie before she paused, putting it back on the table as she folded her hands together.

"The first thing I remember...Was pain..."

_There was a flash of red behind her eyelids and she gasped, eyes snapping open as she twisted her head to look into the covered eyes of her foster father who was glaring at her, frowning his usual little gimp frown. "Don't move, you twit! You'll destroy your stitching and then all that hard work will be for naught!" He sighed, shaking his head as if he thought she were stupid, before wheeling back, going over to his counter. "Hold still you silly girl and I'll get you a mirror. Just don't move. And don't talk." He muttered to himself as he jerked his wheelchair forward when it malfunctioned for a minute before finally getting to his counter, picking up the mirror and turning his chair, wheeling back over to the table. He pressed a button, and the table tilted slightly so that Sally wasn't horizontal to the floor anymore. He then held up the mirror to her face, watching her quietly. "You had quite the accident young lady. You're lucky to be alive." _

_But instead of feeling grateful for the doctor for saving her, Sally let out a choked scream and fainted. _

"...I woke up the next day to Barrel sitting next to me, and I think I just collapsed on him and started to cry...We've been sticking close to each other since..." She looked over her shoulder at the clock, her eyes wide. "And he should be coming soon to pick me up; school's almost over." She said, turning to Mrs Claus and smiling. "Thank you for letting me stay with you today, Mrs Claus. I'll be going to class tomorrow though, so I'll be fine."

"If you ever need a friend, Sally dear, I'm always here to listen." The elder woman said, smiling, before watching Sally pull on her coat quietly, snuggling into it as she nodded to her, before stepping out, and walking down the halls quietly. Mrs Claus then sighed softly, looking at the sugar cookies in front of her.

"I do hope she'll be alright...Poor child."

* * *

Barrel looked at Lock and Shock from the back seat, frowning a little as he glanced out the window, before looking at them again. "Why are we in the country?"

"Because it's a short cut." Shock said, glancing back at him and smiling sardonically. "Duh." Barrel nodded, accepting that innocently before he went back to fiddling with the doll he had bought for his cousin, waving one of its arms for a minute before sighing, putting it back into the bag. "You seem antsy."

"School's been over for ten minutes. I need to get her home." He said, looking over at Lock who had turned to stare at him. "I guess you guys wouldn't understand, being only children."

"You're an only child. Sally's just your cousin."

"Yeah? I still consider her a close part of my family." He sighed, looking out the window. "Could we just get there quickly, please? I'm seriously worried." He frowned a little. "Sally's been...Different since the accident."

"What, other than her looks?" Lock said, turning to look at him curiously. "Since those are certainly different." He turned to Shock and they both cackled for a moment. Barrel threw the tissue box in the back seat at Lock's head. "Ouch! Hey, man, I was kidding!"

"Don't joke about something like that; how would you feel if someone made fun of you for your yellow eyes?" He challenged, glaring. Lock shrugged.

"I'd slug him." Barrel blinked; of course. Lock was a physical kind of guy, wasn't he? Shock must've been the brains of the duo.

"You know, Barrel, you're not half bad once you get passed the obsession with your cousin." Shock commented, looking at him through the rear-view mirror. "No one's ever gotten their mitts on my keys before; I keep them hidden safely."

"It's in the most obvious hiding spot." Barrel rolled his eyes. "I'm snatching things from Dr Finkelstein all the time. He hides thing interestingly." He grinned, as if remembering a fond memory, and the two friends looked at each other oddly for a minute. "He uses some of his experiments. He's a scientist before he's a doctor, after all. He made a few cool things; though he says he does have failed experiments. I can never find them, though; he throws them out." The boy shook his head sadly, and Shock and Lock looked at each other with curiousity in their eyes.

"Why don't you show us the doc's lab? We've always been curious about it..."

"Yeah, so was Sally's cat. Now Sally's cat is a dead cat." Barrel rolled his eyes as he smirked.

"But I've seen Sally's cat; boney little thing." Shock stated, glancing back at him. Barrel nodded, looking solemn.

"He felt bad and brought it back to animation." He said simply. Lock's eyes widened and Shock nearly crashed the car into a light pole. "Hey! Watch where you're driving! Jeez, you act like that's something weird to hear."

"Because, you know, dead cats walk around the street every day."

"...In the lab they do."

Shock swerved again.

* * *

Sally stood by the front doors, looking at the sidewalk for any sign of Barrel and yet seeing none. She bit her bottom lip quietly, chewing on it as she grew fidgety, scratching at the stitching on her wrist before she caught herself, frowning as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Shoot," she mumbled, looking back at the sidewalk to see if her cousin was around yet. But she saw no sign of him, which made her start to feel nervous. "Barrel...Where are you...?" She whispered, looking around before she sighed softly, hunching her shoulders and making the trek home alone, ignoring the stares she received from a few of the students who had heard about what had happened.

After she had passed the initial school grounds, the sidewalk was relatively empty and void of people, which made her relax a little and walk at a slow, relaxed pace. She looked up from the ground, looking around the street and smiled, feeling almost like she had a week ago before the accident; normal, walking home after a hard day at school with homework to do and friends to go see. Her smile faltered at that, and she frowned a little; she hadn't heard from her friends all weekend, but maybe that was because they thought she was recuperating after the accident? She was lucky to be alive, after all...

"If being alive means me looking like this for the rest of my life, I'd rather be dead." Sally mumbled, kicking at a can in her path. She jumped when it clanged against something, and looked up to see the old house that Mrs Claus had mentioned that day; the old house with the tower. She looked at it, staring at the wrought iron gates for a moment, before stepping up to the gate itself, placing a hand on one of the bars and looking up at the windows in the tower. One of the fluttery curtains seemed to shifted to the side, and she thought she saw a tall figure in there briefly before she blinked and just as quickly as it came it disappeared.

She stepped back from the gate, wrapping her arms around her torso as she stared up frightened at the old house, before she turned and ran towards Dr Finkelstein's tower just a little ways away from it. She ran up the stairs, opening the door and closing it, falling against it and slipping down to the ground, panting softly. She winced as she heard the harsh sounds of the old wheelchair in motion, glancing up the rounded grated wheelchair ramp that led to the upper level; seeing her foster father staring at her in a disapproving manner.

"Sally, were you running? You shouldn't do that! You'll over exert yourself! You're not ready for any excitement; you're still very delicate."

"It's not like I wanted to be like this." She mumbled softly and Dr Finkelstein scowled at her darkly.

"If it weren't for my quick and unmotivated help, you would've been deader than that damned cat of yours." He told her harshly; said cat leaping into Sally's lap and purring contentedly as Sally scratched behind its ears. "It'll need to have another check soon so that it'll stay animated, you know."

"I know; it was marked on the calendar." Sally said softly, sighing as she closed her eyes, before blinking them open; getting an idea. "Have you seen Barrel today?"

"Huh? That wretched cousin of yours? No, no; he's been somewhere. He sure hasn't come here, if that's what you're asking. No help that boy; all he ever does is cause trouble for me..." Sally smiled, giggling a little in her hand at her foster father's grumbling as he wheeled himself back up to the upper levels, before she sighed gently, looking at her cat.

"Oh, I wish I knew where Barrel is...I'm worried now...He never breaks his promises."

* * *

"Now I know we're not near town." Barrel muttered as the car stopped and he got out, glaring at Shock and Lock as they cackled, locking the doors to the car.

"Duh we aren't! We're abandoning you here!" Shock stated matter-of-factly, swiping back some of her hair that her headband didn't hold back. "That's for not paying attention to us. We'll see ya when we see ya!" She shrieked in glee, twisting the car and driving off. Barrel sighed, watching them drive off before pulling something out of his pocket, fiddling with it quietly.

"They aren't going to get far without an emergency break...'Specially when those breaks finally snap...Should happen in about ten minutes..." He shrugged a little to himself, and started to walk over to the bus stop, pocketing the emergency break he'd plucked when he had gotten to the car before the others in the parking lot, looking at the times before he sighed. "I'm sorry, Sally..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, I wanted to get this story rolling since I finished 'Perfect', so I wanted to try this one out. I'm still writing 'Secret' 'The Dark Side of the Moon' and 'Demon's World' of course, but I wanted to try something different. Something that's a little more interesting, I guess you can say. Now, some of you might wonder why Sally reacts the way she does near the end of this chapter--you'll see what I mean--and I'll tell you this: Sally lives in a very interesting household where cats can be reanimated from the dead and there are no such things as stairs. Stairs are awkward for her, first off. And things that we would find 'freaky as hell' are just probably the norm for her. Yes, she'll get shocked just like everyone else; I doubt she'll start screaming anytime soon, though. Sally didn't scream in the movie out of fear; not really. She looked terrified once or twice, but she didn't _scream_. So I kept to that.

Disclaimer: The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Tim Burton and Skellington Productions.

* * *

It was late at night when Sally heard the door on the bottom level open, which caused her to sit up and look at her door, wondering who it could be at this hour. Pushing her blankets aside, she got up carefully, walking over to her door and pushing it open silently, peeking her head out; wide eyes blinking a few times as she shivered slightly from the cool breeze that rushed into her room, chilling her arms and legs that were bared because she wore a light nightgown. She heard heavy footsteps then, climbing the ramp that Dr Finkelstein made especially for himself so that he could move around his own home, and the young girl stepped out of her room, going over to the banister and peeking over it, only to find the one person she'd been worried about all night.

"Barrel!" She whispered, her lips forming a smile as he looked up at her, blinking tiredly before he smiled a bit his normally wide grin. She rushed down the ramp, gripping the banister so as to not loose her balance before stopping in front of him, panting a little as he looked down at her; she noticed he was holding a bag loosely in his hand, and was mildly curious as to why he had a bag, but she didn't ask. "Where have you been?" She demanded then, crossing her arms like a stern parent. Barrel laughed a little nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking to the side; trying to avoid her angry eyes. "Barrel..."

"I went out to the other side of town with Lock and Shock, and then they drove me off somewhere in the country. I had to take the city bus and then I had to get a taxi; I almost didn't have enough money." He muttered, looking down at the ground. "I didn't mean to worry you, Sally..." The redheaded girl's features softened as much as they could, before she wrapped her arms around her cousin's torso, cheek pressed against his heartbeat.

"It's alright." She said quietly, before closing her eyes. "Why were you all the way out there, though? You were supposed to be at school..." She felt him laugh a little again, and pulled back, looking at him with a curious tilt of her head as he pulled up the bag she had noticed earlier, shaking it a little. "What's that?" She asked, blinking in confusion.

"Look inside." He said simply. She nodded, taking the bag and opening it, her eyes widening even more as she saw the small doll that she had been eyeing from the craft store on the other side of town. She pulled it out quietly, dropping the bag and looked at the soft cloth doll that resembled her so much now, before she hugged it to her chest, smiling sweetly. "Do you like it?"

"Mhm," she nodded, looking up at him before she grabbed his shoulder and stood on her toes, kissing his cheek lightly. "Thank you, Barrel." She said gently, hugging the doll to her chest again. "This was sweet of you...But you shouldn't have left with Lock and Shock. They're no good, those two."

"Yeah, I know." Barrel said, shrugging a shoulder. He then grinned, pulling out the piece of car he had snatched before he had been deserted. "But I think they're going to think twice about messing with my head."

"Since it's so easily messed with." Sally teased. They both fell silent suddenly, though, when they heard the doctor's door open and the electric whir of his wheelchair as he rolled out to see what the commotion was. They both looked up to see the toad-like doctor looking around through squinted eyes, not being able to see clearly as he grumbled to himself about 'hooligans and their loud noises' before he turned his wheelchair jerkily around, wheeling back into his room and slamming his door shut. Sally jumped a little at that, before she turned to see Barrel, smiling a little bit. "You should head to your room." She said gently and the older boy nodded, looking down the ramp again. "I don't know why he makes you sleep in the basement..."

"He hates me more than he hates you because all I do is 'cause him hell." Barrel said, shrugging before he grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sally; we have school, after all!"

"Mhm...And I'll be going to class." She said softly, looking to the side as she fidgeted with the thread on her wrist. She felt Barrel hold onto her wrist, looking at her carefully and she smiled a little weakly. "Sorry." She whispered. He looked at her worriedly before hugging her, rubbing her shoulder lightly.

"Get some sleep." He said, pulling back before he grinned; his mouth stretching wide as it always did, causing Sally to make her own smaller smile. "Anyone stares at you funny tomorrow I'll get 'em."

"Like you could." She said smiling as she playfully slapped his shoulder, before sighing, glancing up the ramp again, then looked back at him. "Good night, Barrel."

"Sweet dreams." He returned as he watched her turn around, walking up the ramp carefully, gripping the banister to steady herself. He waited until he heard the soft click of her door, before sighing tiredly and turned around, picking up the fallen bag and trudging back down the ramp to go to his room.

* * *

The rooster crowed the next day, rousing Sally from her sleep and she turned a little, mumbling something as she woke up, eyes blinking slowly as they adjusted to the lighting outside. She sat up then, pushing back her blankets and looking at the doll Barrel gave her that sat on her bedside table. She smiled, reaching and tracing the stitching at the corner of its mouth, before she stood and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a shirt she had made from some of the cloth she had found in the doctor's material closet that he wasn't using; it was a patchwork shirt with yellows, oranges and browns, some of the patches having flowers imprinted on the cloth.

She then went to her closet, pulling out a pair of soft black pants, draping them over her shoulder as she grabbed a pair of white socks from her drawer and everything else she needed to get dressed. After smoothing out her shirt, she went to her vanity mirror with the set of drawers and picked up her comb, brushing through her long reddish brown hair quietly, staring at herself in the mirror with a thoughtful expression.

Sally had never thought of herself as 'beautiful'. She'd been born with the strange skin complexion that apparently her entire family had; the soft blue tinge unique to everyone in the city except for her family. Her eyes were wide, almost doll-like and her hair fell to her waist and was perfectly straight. Her actual figure was something she could've been proud of if she had wanted to be proud of it, but she didn't want to be because she thought her legs were too long and her hips too wide; her waist too thin and her shoulders too small. She thought she was out of proportion most of the time, though Barrel always said she was perfect the way she was, and some of the boys at school thought she was attractive at school.

She shook her head a little at her silly thoughts, putting down her comb and walking over to her door, picking up her bag quietly and slipping it onto her shoulders, walking out of her room and down the ramp. At the bottom of the ramp was Barrel, holding out a bagged lunch for her and she took it gratefully, smiling at him slightly as she slipping on her shoes, slipping off her backpack and placing the lunch inside. She then accepted the coat offered to her, slipping it on and took her bag from Barrel who had picked it up while she had been doing up her coat, and slipping that on as well, turning to see Dr Finkelstein sitting in his wheelchair by the door. She walked over to the old man, bending down and pressing a light, barely there kiss on top of his bald head, before pulling back. "I'll see you after school, Dr." She said softly and he nodded, adjusting his darkly tinged glasses.

"Yes you will; you have to make us dinner tonight since my precious Jewel is out at a doctor's appointment. I don't understand why none of you want _me_ to look after you, since I _am_ a doctor—I mean, look at the work I did on you! Saved your life, didn't I Sally?" He asked harshly. Sally bit her bottom lip, before she nodded quickly, turning away from him. "Yes, and you better be grateful about it to, little girl—if not for me you'd be dead. Deader than that damned cat!"

She sighed quietly to herself, rolling her eyes heavenward as she followed her cousin out of the doctor's home, walking to the bus stop that they had to use with the other students until Barrel could buy another car. She shifted a little uncomfortably as she stood beside Barrel, looking at the ground and kicking at a pebble by her foot as she heard soft whispers behind her back; thought she felt eyes staring at the back of her head or at her profile even though when she looked around she didn't see anyone looking her way. 'I am feeling paranoid because of these stupid stitches.' She thought, frowning and hunching her shoulders up to her ears. 'Why am I so self-conscious? I've always been this self-conscious, though...It just multiplied after the surgery, I guess...' She sighed quietly, closing her eyes until she heard the bus stop. She looked up, walking after Barrel into a seat in the far back, sliding into the seat closest to the window, looking out of it as the students loaded on and sat in the seats, all talking loudly about one thing or another as the doors to the bus closed and they started moving.

The bus ride between the cousins was silent for the most part, Barrel talking to other kids on the bus and laughing just like he would've last week or the week before—and had Sally been up to conversation, she would've joined them, smiling and making her own comments. But she wasn't up to it and so stayed silent, getting up when the bus stopped and climbing down the stairs, wishing the bus driver a good day as she made her way into the school like she had the day before.

She looked around the halls for a moment, before turning to her left, walking up the staircase to the second floor, gripping the banister to help her make her way up. She pulled open the door to the second floor hallway, walking down the row of lockers and walking to hers, spinning the dial to her combination before pulling it opened, slipping off her backpack and putting it on the floor, slipping out of her coat and putting it into her locker, pulling out her textbook for English and closing the locker quietly, picking up her bag again and walking down to her first class, walking in and sitting in a desk in the back corner near the window, setting her things on the desk and sitting there quietly, crossing her ankles below her seat and folding her hands on top of her textbook, staring out the window.

Ten minutes later, the warning bell rang and she heard students start climbing up the stairs and walking in the halls; the English teacher walking in and jumping when he caught the sight of Sally sitting there calmly, before he smiled to her kindly. "Hello Sally; I didn't see you there."

"That's alright, sir." Sally said gently, looking over at him and blinking, watching as his face paled slightly at her appearance. "I'll just stay silent during class anyhow." She smiled to him a little, and he nodded, glancing away from her. She felt a pang of hurt, since usually this teacher liked to talk to her, but she shrugged it off as nothing, looking out the window again as she waited for the other students to come in.

The late bell rang, and the teacher turned to see most of the students sitting there, before he started to teach that day's lesson, marking students as late as they trickled in. Sally watched them all from the back, glancing at a young elf-like girl who sat next to her in the back dressed in a green sweater and a dark blue denim skirt. The girl looked over at Sally, blinked and gaped for a moment before flushing in embarrassment, mumbled an apology, and turned away from her; paying rapt attention to the teacher suddenly. Sally's eyes saddened, before she sighed, writing little notes as the teacher spoke.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Barrel sat in Physics class, listening attentively as the teacher described a new method to the class in detail; Barrel writing down notes carefully with details in it so that he could understand what everything meant when he went home to do the homework. He felt a ball of paper hit him on the back of his head and he jumped eyes wide before he turned around and looked at the floor to see the waded piece of paper. He glanced back at the teacher, noticing that she wasn't paying attention before he leaned down and snatched the wad up, unfolding it in his lap and quickly reading the note. His eyes widened, before they narrowed, and then he snickered, turning around to see Shock glaring at him from her seat in the back, Lock staring at him with wide eyes from beside her. He smirked, crumpling the paper again and tossing it into the trashcan, turning his attention back to the teacher, which caused the tall girl to fume for a moment before she forced herself to calm down; breathing slowly in and out of her long nose. Her redheaded best friend turned to look at her with his strange yellow eyes, cocking his head to the side.

"Are you gonna throttle him?" he asked in a whisper, to which he only got a wicked smile. He shuddered a little. "You know, Shock, for a girl, you're pretty freaky." She turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow, and he rushed to explain. "I mean, most girls are scary in their own right, right? They're all emotional and stuff. You're not emotional; you're like a guy. But you're also a masochist at times. I mean, how many people smile at the thought of pain in this school?"

"You and I do. All the time." Shock pointed out. Lock nodded, staring at her, and she narrowed her eyes in thought before she nodded in understanding, scratching the back of her head and yanking on her ponytail for a minute, shrugging a shoulder. "Alright, I get what you're talking about. Now what's this got to do with anything?"

"Just thought I'd say you were freaky like a guy and not like a girl." Lock said, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, and you're acting like a little boy crushing on someone with the way you're treating Barrel." He turned to look at Shock, raising an eyebrow as he grinned. "Do you _like _him Shock? Are you in _love_?" He snickered, before whining as he was hit over the head with Shock's ruler that she had randomly grabbed from her binder. "Ow! What was that for, you freak?"

"For being an idiot; why would you think I liked him?" Shock snapped, glaring at him. Lock was about to respond when the teacher walked up to their desks, looking at the two of them with a stern look.

"You'll both be spending lunch with me in detention, then? Splendid." She smiled sweetly, and the two of them shuddered before she turned around, going back to the front. They stared after her for a moment, before Shock leaned over to Lock.

"And you thought _I_ was a masochist?"

* * *

The time till lunch seemed to drag on for Sally, but once the bell rang for it, she was out of her seat and leaving the classroom faster than anyone else in the classroom was, having packed up five minutes prior. She walked down the stairs as fast as her legs could take her, and marched into the cafeteria, wincing at the rush of sound that hit her ears before she looked to the stage and saw Barrel waving at her, grinning his normal grin. She smiled a bit, walking quickly over to the stage, though she had to swerve out of peoples' ways a few times, almost loosing her balance. A few times she was caught by the random-acts-of-kindness practitioner and she'd thank them quietly before finally made it to the stage, climbing up the stairs slowly and walking over to him, sitting down with her legs folded beneath her. She pulled out her lunch, putting it on the floor in front of her as Barrel spoke of his classes, she making the occasional comment or two as they ate.

During the middle of lunch, though, the atmosphere changed when Shock walked into the cafeteria, leaving Lock behind to buy his lunch. She walked up to the stage, using the edge to propel herself up before walking over to the cousins, crouching down in front of them and narrowing her eyes at them. "You know that it's because of you, Barrel, that Lock and I have to go to detention once he buys our lunches, right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Barrel stared at her, looking at her in confusion and she sighed in exasperation. "Well, I guess you wouldn't understand, being thick-headed and all." She said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, folded arms on top of jean-clad knees. "It was because of your infuriating smirk that we got into trouble for talking. So in conclusion, it makes it your fault. So, gonna do anything about it?"

"...Nope." Barrel said, shrugging. "Because I don't see how that's my fault at all, Shock. Now could you go away? We're trying to eat here." Shock scowled at him, eyes narrowing before she turned to look at Sally. She raised her eyebrow at her, her face twisted into an unsightly expression.

"I don't see why he hangs around you all the time; you might be his cousin but you have got to be the dullest, most predictable kid I've ever seen. The only interesting things about you are those freaky scars." She stood up then, turning and jumping off the stage, grabbing Lock by the back of the collar as he came out of the caf with the food, dragging him back out into the hall.

Barrel narrowed his eyes before looking over at Sally who had frozen. "Sally, she's only jealous of you; you're way more interesting than her..." He said gently, touching her shoulder. She flinched away, scooting away from her cousin and looking at her lap; hands fisting in the cloth of her pants. She closed her eyes, shoulder shaking before she looked over at Barrel frowning a little.

"She's right, you know..." She whispered softly. "I'm not interesting. You're in your last year, Barrel. You need more friends than me. You can't take me to your prom, because that would be awkward." She smiled a little, though it looked like it forced. "You need to hang out with people in your grade...You'd actually probably get along with Lock and Shock if you stopped hanging around me...They seem to want to be your friends, since they keep bothering you..." She looked to the side, before smiling weakly. "I'm going to go to the bathroom, alright?" She said then, getting up and walking to the edge of the stage, slipping off quietly and walking through the side door of the cafeteria, not waiting for Barrel to say anything.

She walked across the hall into the bathroom, biting her bottom lip as she held back tears. She stopped as she heard a few gasps and looked up to see a few girls staring at her with wide eyes, before they all rushed out; she winced in hurt, before she walked over to one of the mirrors, staring at herself for a moment before her face twisted and she banged her fist against the mirror.

"If all I'm going to look like for the rest of my life is like a freak, then I would've rather died." She spoke harshly; harshly because of the tears she was holding back. Her hand slipped from the mirror and she wrapped her arms around her torso, before she bolted from the bathroom and from the school, running down the street.

She didn't even notice Shock, who had been standing in a stall when she had been talking to herself.

"...Uhh...Oops?"

* * *

She didn't know how long she had actually been running, but before she knew it she collapsed to her knees, panting heavily and gripping onto a slightly familiar wrought iron gate. She looked over at the house with the tower quietly, staring at the windows for a moment but didn't see anyone in it like she had the day before. Quietly, she pulled herself up to her feet, stumbling a little before she pushed the gate open, walking quietly up the path till she made it to the stairs. She stared at them for a moment, noting their slightly crooked alignment before she slowly started to climb them, taking each step one by one. She finally made it to the door and held a hand up to knock or ring the doorbell, then thought better of it. Who would live in a place like this, anyhow? She had just imagined someone walking in the tower because of the story Mrs Claus had told her during school yesterday.

She took the handle firmly, twisting it and pushing the door opened before she stepped inside, letting go of the door. It slammed shut behind her and she jumped, turning around to see it had swung close because the house itself was at the slightest angle. She then looked around the dark interior, and noted that it actually looked well kept for a place that hadn't been lived in for years. She walked across the floor quietly, looking into a room and seeing a kitchen with a few old fashioned cooking utensils, before walking on. She made her way towards another room, which she saw had two couches and a fireplace, as well as a hearth rug in the middle, and a dog bed by an armchair. She smiled a little; a family could've lived in this house long ago.

She then turned around, and looked up at the stairs, frowning a little at the amount of them. "...Might as well." She mumbled softly, shrugging to herself as she walked over to the bottom stair case, gripping onto the banister tightly. She stepped onto the first step, slowly making her way up until the stairs started to circle; at these stairs she really had to concentrate, but she managed to climb them all with little to no trouble, finally making it into the tower that was supposedly home to a creature that Nicolas Claus was intrigued with and watched for every night.

She looked around, and the first thing she noted was that this room in the tower looked the most lived in; books scattered here and there with papers littered everywhere. There was another dog bed by a table, and on the table there was a house made out of cards. She then looked around and saw that on the top and bottom levels the walls were practically lined with bookshelf after bookshelf, filled with books and books and books—a library, perhaps? She turned to see a bed by the one wall that didn't have a bookshelf pressed against it, and saw that there were some more books scattered around there, and a nightgown with a nightcap on the sheets that weren't made. She smiled a little at the homey sense she got from the place, turning her eyes to see something so out of place it made her take a step back.

There was an electric chair sitting in the furthermost corner of the slightly rounded room, though it seemed that it hadn't been used for torture if she could guess correctly from seeing the pictures of electric chairs in Dr Finkelstein's books that he kept on interesting subjects. She frowned, walking over to it and leaning down, reaching out to touch the headpiece that was supposed to send an electric shock through the person's head when she heard something shuffle from a place out of sight.

"You shouldn't touch that," a voice unfamiliar spoke and she stiffened at once, eyes wide and scared. "It could hurt you; I can't remember if I turned it off or not when I was trying something out." She heard footsteps from the upper level of the room then, and the sliding of the sliding ladder she had seen earlier, before someone climbed down quietly, slowly walking over to her; the spaces between each footstep was large, indicating that the person was very tall. "What are you doing in here anyhow? No one ever comes in here..." The voice was behind her, but with a large amount of space between them, and Sally bit her bottom lip, looking out the window to see Dr. Finkelstein's home just a little away from the tower's view. She had never known she lived that close before...

"...Umm...I just wanted to see what it was like in here." She spoke, trying to sound calm and not terrified. No one was supposed to live here; why was someone even here? Was that why the place looked clean? Did they live here without anyone knowing so that they wouldn't have to pay bills for such a large place? "Do you live here?"

"Well...I was born here and I haven't ever left, so yes. This is my home." The voice said simply, and Sally thought about the voice for a moment; it sounded so calm and friendly, though it had a lonely undertone to it. It was obviously a male's voice, Sally could tell that much, but she couldn't turn around for the life of her to see what this man looked like. "You live with the doctor, right? I've seen you walking past here sometimes."

"...You watch me?" She spoke quietly. The person rushed to explain themselves.

"I watch everyone on the outside; I don't go outside, you know, because I couldn't possibly go outside." He paused, and Sally didn't know whether he was thinking or that was all he was going to say. "...I haven't seen you walk by in a while; I thought I saw you yesterday...But I didn't get a good look. It's hard to see through the curtains at times." Sally blinked her tension loosening as she heard the genuine truthfulness and curiousity in his peculiar tone. "What's your name?"

"...I'm Sally." She said gently, turning around and looking at the ground as she did so. "Sally Finkelstein. I'm his adoptive daughter." She heard the other person make a sound of confirmation, before the breath was caught in the back of their throat.

"What happened to you?" He asked gently, and Sally lifted a hand to scratch at the stitching in her wrist; something she was prone to doing when she was nervous.

"I got into an accident on the weekend...Dr Finkelstein saved me...But this is the outcome." She said softly, before smiling and laughing bitterly. "I guess I'm just unpleasant to look at, so you don't have to look at me. I'll just...I'll just leave."

"Don't." The person said quietly, and they walked a little closer to her, but kept her personal space. She then felt the boniest hand touch her arm, and she looked down to see it was a _bone hand_ touching her arm. Her eyes widened and she looked up to see a skeleton man staring at her; eye sockets black as night staring at her in what she could tell was worry, and a mouth actually frowning. What kind of skeleton could make facial expressions? And what kind of skeleton had a rounded head like this one? But most importantly, what kind of skeleton could _talk_? "I don't think you're unpleasant to look at, Sally." He said softly, and she watched through her eyelashes as his mouth actually moved to form the words, his eyes smiling at her, trying to make her feel better; an act Barrel would've done as well, but Barrel wasn't here and a complete stranger was trying to comfort her. A complete stranger that was an animated skeleton; why wasn't she screaming? This wasn't normal or natural even! Wouldn't any normal girl be scared by the living dead?

Her cat then filled her mind and she realized why she must've not been screaming; it wasn't that strange in her life, after all. "I think you look lovely, even with these scars. Maybe it's because they're so crude, it just makes your loveliness stand out more, but that's just my opinion." He smiled at her again, and she looked up fully at him, where he blinked—how could he blink?—and removed his hand, shying away from her.

"...What's your name?" She asked quietly, looking at him curiously and taking a step towards him, hands curled at her chest; unsure whether to reach out or keep to herself. He was remarkably tall, but she wasn't that much shorter. Sally had always been a tall girl, though. The skeleton man stared at her for a moment, and she could tell he was thinking whether he should say anything or just run away. He finally smiled a little nervously, reaching out and offering his boney hand. Hesitating for a second, Sally stared at the hand before reaching out, taking it quietly; his long fingers wrapping around her much smaller hand gently.

"My name is Jack. Jack Skellington."


End file.
